Evaluating the Feasibility of VR for Pediatric Renal Biopsies

March 10, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

Evaluating the Feasibility of Virtual Reality for Procedural Sedation in Pediatric Renal Biopsy Patients

The purpose of this study is to assess the use of virtual reality (VR) as an adjunct or alternative to pharmacologic sedation in pediatric patients undergoing renal biopsy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Children aged 5-17 scheduled for renal biopsy will be offered the option to use a virtual reality (VR) headset that displays an interactive game as part of their renal biopsy experience. The standard of care of sedation medications will still be available to patients who are unable to complete the procedure with only the VR headset without pharmacologic sedation. Pain and anxiety will be monitored continuously using validated scales by a pediatric hospitalist and sedation nurse. These providers, as well as patients and parents, may ask for additional medications for adequate analgesia and anxiolysis.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
32

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients age 5-17 receiving a renal biopsy at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Benioff Children's Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who cannot lie supine for their renal biopsy will be excluded from the study
  • Patients with injuries to the head/face that would prohibit wearing a headset
  • Patients with loss of consciousness, altered mental status, life-threatening injuries/illness or multi-trauma
  • Patients with open skin, lice, scabies, or other infectious skin conditions on the head/face
  • Patients with a history of or current symptoms of vertigo
  • Patients who are blind
  • Patients with significant developmental or cognitive delays who may not be able to engage with or tolerate the virtual reality environment, as determined by their parent/caregiver
  • Patients on whom the VR headset does not fit appropriately

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: VR Arm
Pediatric patients age 5-17 using the VR headset during renal biopsy.
Device: Oculus Go Virtual Reality Headset
VR headset displaying preselected game during renal biopsy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Who "Strongly Agreed" They Would Recommend VR to Others Undergoing Similar Procedures
Time Frame: From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Acceptability of VR as non-pharmacologic sedation was assessed based on a team-made Likert scale survey given to patients and parents (Likert scale, with 1 = "strongly disagree" as most dissatisfied with VR experience and 5 = "strongly agree" as most satisfied with VR experience and a better perceived outcome
From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Number of Parents Who "Agreed" or "Strongly Agreed" They Would Recommend VR to Others Undergoing Similar Procedures
Time Frame: From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Acceptability of VR as non-pharmacologic sedation was assessed based on a team-made Likert scale survey given to patients and parents (Likert scale, with 1 = "strongly disagree" as most dissatisfied with VR experience and 5 = "strongly agree" as most satisfied with VR experience and a better perceived outcome
From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean Difference in Self-reported Procedural Anxiety (Change in Childhood Anxiety Meter)
Time Frame: From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Anxiety as recorded on the Childhood Anxiety Meter was assessed at the start of the procedure and after the procedure was completed with the VR experience. CAM is recorded on a 0-10 scale using an analogy of mercury thermometer to ask children to their rate level of anxiety, with a higher score indicating a greater level anxiety.
From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Mean Difference in Self-reported Procedural Anxiety (Change in Child Fear Scale)
Time Frame: From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)
Anxiety as recorded on the Children's Fear Scale was assessed at the start of the procedure and after the procedure was completed with the VR experience. CFS is recorded on a 0-4 numeric scale, with 4 being the highest fear/anxiety related to the procedure.
From arrival to procedural room to completion of procedure (~30 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Justin Libaw, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 11, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 8, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 7, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 3, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 4, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 21-35095

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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